E-Commerce Law

Facebook's CAN-SPAM Claim Survives Advertiser's Motion to Dismiss

In Facebook's seven count complaint against Defendant MaxBounty Inc. for its allegedly fraudulent advertising scheme aimed at Facebook users, the social networking giant defeated MaxBounty's motion to dismiss Facebook's claim under the CAN-SPAM Act by successfully arguing that the fake advertising pages posted by MaxBounty on the social networking site constituted "electronic mail messages" under the Act.  Facebook, Inc. v. MaxBounty, Inc., No. CV-10-4712-JF, 2011 WL 1120046 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 28, 2011).  The District Court for the Northern District of California held that Facebook sufficiently pled its claim under 15 U.S.C. § 7701 ("CAN-SPAM Act"), thereby adopting Congress' broad interpretation of the term "electronic mail message."

Spammers Must Pay Facebook More Than $360 Million in Statutory Damages

After granting its Motion for Default Judgment, the District Court for the Northern District of California awarded Facebook statutory damages in the amount of $360,500,000 against a group of Defendants who illegally obtained login information from Facebook users and sent more than 7.2 million spam messages to those users in violation of Facebook's Statement of Rights and Responsibilities ("SRR").  Facebook, Inc. v. Fisher, 2011 WL 250395 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 26, 2011).   The Court also permanently enjoined the Defendants from accessing or using the social networking site.